Fonds F1349 - Kingston Board of Education fonds

Shortly after the arrival of the main body of Loyalist settlers in 1784, Kingston acquired its first school. In 1785 or 1786 the Rev. John Stuart persuaded the authorities to build a schoolhouse. Although difficulties in getting and keeping a teacher forced periodic closures, the school ran continuously from 1795 to 1799 with George Okill Stuart as schoolmaster. In 1807 the School Act was passed in the Upper Canada Legislature establishing a public or grammar school in each of the eight districts of Upper Canada. The one for the Midland District was located in Kingston and was known as the Midland District Public School. Since these schools were not public or free in our sense of the word pressure grew in the Assembly for common schools that would be accessible by all. The result was an act passed in 1816 that made it possible for Boards of Trustees to be established with power to appoint teachers and charge fees, but without the power to levy rates upon the community. It was not until the Common School Acts of 1841 and 1843 were passed that provision was made for the collection of rates by municipal councils for school purposes. Up until 1847 each common school in a town or city had its own board but in 1847 a new act made it lawful for each City Council to appoint a Board of trustees to take possession of all common school property. Finally, in 1850, an act which consolidated former measures and made possible the gradual adoption of the free school system was passed. The first meeting of the school trustees elected under the 1850 act met in Kingston on September 19, 1850. The year 1871 saw a major step in education legislation with an act that provided that all common schools should henceforth be known as public schools, introduced compulsory attendance for children between the ages of seven and twelve, and made a clear distinction between elementary and secondary education. In 1897 a union between the Board of Public School Trustees (in existence since 1847) and the Board of Trustees of the Midland District Grammar School (in existence since 1807) resulted in the Board of Education.